Batman
Batman is the world's greatest detective. Despite his tragic past, he has overcome all obstacles to dedicate his life to the eradication of crime in his home, Gotham City. Although he has no super-powers, Batman's powers of deduction combined with his obsessive determination combine to make him one of the most feared crimefighters in the world. 'History' 'Early Life' Bruce Wayne was born to the wealthy Wayne family of Gotham City in 1969. As a boy, Bruce Wayne would often watch the television adventures of his fictional hero: the Gray Ghost with his father Thomas.Beware the Gray Ghost Bruce would later take many ideas from this show in the future. On the way home from seeing the film, The Mark of Zorro, eight year old Bruce was witness to his parents being shot by a petty mugger in the slum area that would become known as "Crime Alley".Appointment in Crime Alley Some say that the real Bruce Wayne died that night along with his parents, and in his place, The Batman was born. Young Master Bruce was taken home to Wayne Manor, where he was raised by the Waynes' faithful friend and butler, Alfred Pennyworth. He also found comfort from his father's friend and medical colleague Leslie Thompkins, who was ironically a resident of the neighbourhood where Thomas and Martha were killed. 'Training' Bruce learned many arts and sciences toward the goal of eliminating all the crime that took his parents from him. He learned from masters in their fields, such as escape artistry from Zatara, the master of magicZatanna and various Japanese martial arts from Yoru Sensei.Night of the Ninja While he trained with Zatara to be a master escapist, he and his mentor's daughter Zatanna became very close. Bruce very nearly gave up his plan to become a force for justice in the night when he nearly found happiness with Andrea Beaumont. When Ms. Beaumont walked out of his life, he became even more determined and dove headfirst onto the path of becoming Batman.Batman: Mask of the Phantasm On a night like many others before and since, Bruce sat reliving his parents' murder. While absorbed in this horrific daydream, a bat crashed through the window of his study. It was then that his obsession and plan was given form. He would become the bat, he would be the night and strike fear into those who preyed on the innocent. Using the caverns he discovered below Wayne Manor right before Alfred broke the bad news about Andrea, Bruce built his secret headquarters, the Batcave. 'Batman' During the day, Bruce Wayne is the CEO of Wayne Enterprises and maintains a public image of a millionaire playboy. In fact, Bruce intentionally goes to great lengths to convince others that the self-centered socialite is really his true self. However, by night he patrols the streets of Gotham. Batman arms himself with nothing more than technology, toughness and wits - combined with the virtually unlimited wealth of his company to fund his crimefighting pledge. Batman spent years keeping the people of Gotham City safe from both common criminals and bizarre villains alike. Later, Bruce took in Dick Grayson as his ward after Dick's parents were killed by local gangster Tony Zucco. Batman eventually took Dick as his partner when he found out about Bruce's alter-ego. Dick then took up the mantle of Robin.Robin's Reckoning Part I Batman would then spend years keeping the good people of Gotham City safe from both common criminals and bizarre villains. He had several partners and occasional imitators such as BatgirlShadow of the Bat Part I, but his most common partner was still Robin. 'Crime Fighting' Even with Batman's aid, Gotham is an urban nightmare, every bit as dark and gloomy as the criminals who inhabit it. The city cries out for justice, and Batman is Gotham City's "Dark Knight" who will stop at nothing to restore order to the city and protect it's good honest citizens. However, on his crusade against crime, he encounters various of the most dangerous and deranged criminals, but Batman always manages to overcome adversity. 'Man-Bat' The pharmaceutical companies of Gotham were being stolen by a mysterious Bat-creature and the Gotham City Police Department targets Batman as the most possible suspect. However, Batman's own investigation leads him to Dr. Kirk Langstrom, whose experiments at crossing species have turned him into the fearsome Man-Bat. Batman captured Man-Bat in order to save Langstrom from the mutation and also, he set the record with the police straight and cleared his name in the process.On Leather Wings When another bat creature haunts Gotham again, Batman assumes it is Langstrom again, but after a test, Batman learns he is not the monster. Investigating further, Batman discovers that the second Man-Bat is actually Langstrom's wife, Francine, who was accidentally doses with the serum. Batman locates the "She-Bat" and after a lengthy chase, he manages to give her the antidote, ending the threat of the Man-Bat for good.Terror in the Sky 'Joker' Joker was Batman's greatest foe and they clashed many times. When Joker escaped from Arkham Asylum, he kidnapped Commissioner Gordon, Harvey Bullock and Summer Gleeson. Batman located Joker after a series of traps set by the criminal in order to stall Batman and prevent him from saving the hostages. However, Batman managed to save them and capture the Joker, returning him back to Arkham.Christmas With the Joker On April Fool's Day, a mysterious gas was affecting the people of Gotham and Batman analyzed the air in Gotham, learning that the Joker was behind it all. Batman confronted Joker his deadly robot Captain Clown. After escaping a deathtrap, Batman followed Joker to his hideout in an abandoned waste treatement plant. Batman defeated and destroyed Captain Clown and then chased Joker through a series of traps until he finally captured the mad man.The Last Laugh Some time later Bruce was invited to Mayor Hill's son, Jordan, birthday party and noticed that Jekko the clown was in fact the Joker. Bruce saved the guests from Joker's attack and later followed him to his hideout. After realizing that Jordan was there, Batman followed him to a trap set by Joker and after being knocked unconscious, Batman was placed upside down in a water tank with a straightjacket. It took him a while to escape the trap and after escaping, Batman chased down the Joker to a rollercoaster ride, where they fought an epic battle until Batman dropped the Joker to the river below. Batman then rescued Jordan and took him back home.Be a Clown A short while later, Batman stopped Joker's plan to kill Commissioner Gordon and a great number of police officers with a bomb during a ceremony in Gordon's name. Batman then tracked down Joker and his henchmen and captured them.Joker's Favor When Joker tried to murder public officials in order to achieve his mad plan to copyright his "Joker Fish", Batman saved Joker's victims before finally confronting the criminal at the Aquarium, where Joker managed to escape during the final fight in the rooftop.The Laughing Fish Joker was eventually captured and taken to Arkham, but he escaped with the purpose of destroying Cameron Kaiser's casino themed after the Joker. Batman once again confronted the Joker and stopped him along with Kaiser, who was also a criminal.Joker's Wild Eventually, Joker captured Batman and placed him in a deadly trap. Batman was able to escape only thanks to Catwoman's appearance. However, Catwoman was then captured by the Joker and in order to learn the exact location where she was being held, Batman posed as Killer Croc and learned the truth from Joker after he told his version of how he almost killed Batman. The Dark Knight then proceeded to apprehend the Joker along with other criminals and he returned the favor to Catwoman by saving her.Almost Got 'Im 'Scarecrow' Jonathan Crane adopted the moniker of Scarecrow and started a crime spree as a personal vendetta against the Gotham University. Scarecrow commited his crimes using a special fear gas that made the people who came in contact with it to see their worst fears materialized in front of them. Batman tried to stop him, but Scarecrow dosed him with fear toxin directly to the bloodstream, causing Batman to have hallucinations about his father, Thomas Wayne talking to him and ashamed of Bruce for being a dishonor to the Wayne family. Batman managed to overcome his fears, stopped Scarecrow using his own fear gas and delivered him to the GCPD.Nothing to Fear Batman became aware of Scarecrow's escape from Arkham Asylum when Robin was suddenly affected by panic attacks. Batman investigated the case and discovered that Scarecrow has been using his fear toxin on professional athletes in order to place bets against ther teams. Batman confronted Scarecrow and managed to capture him with Robin's help after he overcame his own fears.Fear of Victory Not long after this, Scarecrow escaped from Arkham and planned to poison the Gotham Water Supply with his fear toxin. Batman was earlier infected by the gas, thus he starts hallucinating and he is taken to Arkham Asylum as an inmate. After a long struggle, Batman managed to stop Scarecrow and Alfred administered an antidote to cure Batman from his delusions.Dreams in Darkness 'Poison Ivy' Bruce Wayne helped Harvey Dent and Mayor Hill on the contruction of Stonegate Penitentiary and five years later, a vengeful scientist sought revenge against Harvey Dent for destroying a plant field in order to buils the prison. Batman captured a small time criminal that escaped from Stonegate and then had dinner with his friend Harvey Dent and Dent's new girlfriend, Pamela Isley. After dinner, Harvey was taken to the hostpital on a severe coma. The doctors told Bruce that Dent was poisoned and Bruce analized the clues. Pamela showed up later and Bruce began suspecting of her when she tried to kiss him. After checking on her background, Bruce found that she had poisoned Harvey. Batman went to her hideout and uncovered her scheme, leading to a deadly fight, after which Ivy was captured and sent to Stonegate.Pretty Poison Sometime later, Ivy started a new crime scheme and she started transforming people into trees, even going as far as attacking Alfred and his girl friend Maggie Page. Batman investigated the case and learned Ivy's involvement in these crimes, before confronting her and stopping her once again.Eternal Youth 'Two-Face' Bruce's friend and Gotham's DA, Harvey Dent started a re-election campaign that forced a hidden aspect of him to reappear. Dent suffered from multiple personality disorder and his evil personality was unleashed when Rupert Thorne tried to blackmail Dent into dropping his political campaign. The evil Dent attacked Thorne, but he was stopped by Batman. However, Batman was soon distracted by Thorne's henchmen and couldn't save Dent from an accident that scarred the man's face in half.Two-Face Part I In the aftermath of Harvey's transformation, he took up on the identity of the criminal Two-Face and Batman was forced to stop him. Considering Two-Face as a friend in need instead of an enemy, Batman tried to help him at first, but he couldn't and he was forced to capture and deliver him to justice, hoping that the man who was once his friend could somehow recover.Two-Face Part II 'Penguin' Batman came across Penguin and his gang for the first time after they tried to steal the Vonalster Fabergé Egg. Batman managed to locate their hideout, but he was knocked unconscious by some of Penguin's knockout gas. As a result, Batman had to be saved by a couple of kids, who took him to their basement, where Batman recovered and captured Penguin shortly afterwards.I've Got Batman in My Basement When Penguin was later released from prison, Batman kept a watchful eye on him, but the Penguin seemed to go straight until he was made a fool by Veronica Vreeland and Pierce Chapman. Penguin kidnapped Vreeland and forced Chapman to deliver the ransom money, before he tried to kill them. Batman arrived in time to save the hostages and capture Penguin.Birds of a Feather 'Mister Freeze' Batman became aware of Mister Freeze's presence in Gotham when the villain targetted GothCorp industries for his cold related crimes. After learning the tragic past behind Freeze, Batman stopped him from killing GothCorp's CEO, Ferris Boyle and Freeze was locked away in Arkham.Heart of Ice 'Catwoman' Batman encountered Catwoman around the same time when Bruce met Selina Kyle. Catwoman was a thief and Batman found himself attracted to both of them. However the Red Claw also appeared in Gotham, which forced Batman and Catwoman to get involved.The Cat and the Claw Part I Each of them used their own ways to get to Red Claw, but in the end they were both captured by the terrorist. Catwoman freed them both and Batman destroyed the place until the police arrived and arrested Red Claw's group. Afterwards, Batman went to Selina's house and arrested her as well.The Cat and the Claw Part II 'Clayface' Bruce Wayne was framed for attempted murder against his own employee Lucius Fox, and as a result he was arrested when he tried to speak to Lucius in the hospital. The man who impersonated Bruce and attacked Lucius was in fact the famous actor Matt Hagen, under the instructions of Roland Daggett.Feat of Clay Part I Hagen was being blackmailed by Daggett and shorly after, Dagget's henchmen tried to eliminate Hagen by giving him an overdose of a special chemical, which transformed him into Clayface. Batman investigated the framing of Bruce Wayne and he confronted Clayface, who sought revenge against Daggett. Their duel led to Clayface's apparent demise, but further tests on the Batcave confirmed that Clayface faked his death and escaped on the last minute.Feat of Clay Part II 'Killer Croc' Batman started investigating Harvey Bullock's past after Spider Conway and Joey Martin were kidnapped and Bullock became the first suspect. However, Batman soon found the responsible, a man called Killer Croc. Croc was a criminal who had been previously arrested by Bullock and was trying to frame him. Batman struggled to capture Croc because of his physical superiority, but the caped crusader managed to defeat Croc and cleared Bullock's name.Vendetta 'Mad Hatter' Jervis Tetch was a scientist that worked at Wayne Enterprises. When strange things started happening to the people around him, Batman investigated his profile and discovered that Tetch was using his inventions to mind-control people for his own personal gain. Batman also learned that Tetch was delusional, as he believed to be The Mad Hatter from the children's book, "Alice in Wonderland". Batman stopped Tetch from using people from the company and he rescued a young girl called Alice, who had been abducted by Tetch.Mad As A Hatter The Mad Hatter eventually lured Batman into a trap and used a machine to force Batman into a coma while his mind lived in a 'dream world' where Bruce's parents were never murdered, and he was engaged to Selina Kyle. Eventually, Bruce managed to discover the true nature and escaped from the dream-reality. The Mad Hatter, was then captured once again.Perchance to Dream 'Riddler' Edward Nygma was The Riddler, the genius level mastermind who turned to crime in order to finish his vendetta against his former employee Daniel Mockridge. Batman saved Mockrigde by thwarting Riddler's scheme, but he couldn't capture the criminal genius.If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich? Months later, Riddler returned to Gotham to eliminate every trace from his past. Using a virtual reality machine, he trapped Commissioner Gordon and lured Batman into a trap. However, Batman outsmarted the Riddler and caused his mind to be trapped inside the virtual reality world.What is Reality? 'Phantasm' Ten years later after their last meeting, Bruce would be reunited with the woman who almost prevented Batman becoming reality. After being accused of murdering several members of the Valestra gang, Batman was able to determine that the real assassin, The Phantasm, was actually his former love Andrea Beaumont. When he confronted her, while she was in a heated battle with The Joker, she said that vengeance was all she had left before she disappeared with a detained Joker as an abandoned theme park exploded in their wake. 'Other Villains' Batman encountered several low-profile criminals during his crime-fighting career. Batman confronted The Sewer King, who was a criminal that kidnapped street urchins and took them to the sewers to serve him and used them to steal the people on the surface. Batman found his secret lair and after fighting his pet alligators, Batman captured The Sewer King and rescued the kidnapped children.The Underdwellers On another ocassion, a man only known as The Boss started a crime spree in Gotham. After a police raid went wrong because of Detective Bullock's recklessnes, Batman saved the officers and allowed the criminals to kidnap him, in order to learn the location of their hideout. Renée Montoya discovered the location and she teamed up with Batman. Together, they apprehended the entire gang including The Boss himself.P.O.V. Batman then learned about the disappearance of several homeless people and while investigating the case, he is kidnapped by Boss Biggis' slavery band. Under a fake alias, Batman worked for Biggis until he recovered his memory and with Alfred's help, Batman took down the band and Biggis as well.The Forgotten After learning about a gang war between Arnold Stromwell and Rupert Thorne, Batman talked to Stromwell's bruther Michael Stromwell to get Arnold out of his life of crime and helped him surrender evidence to the authorities.It's Never Too Late Batman also stopped a criminal who could turn himself invisible with some special equipment. Lloyd Ventrix started a crime spree and then kidnapped his own daughter, before Batman could stop him for good.See No Evil When Gotham was attacked by The Mad Bomber, Batman teamed up with his childhood hero, The Gray Ghost and captured the criminal. Shortly after this, Batman stopped Nostromos, a con artist that tried to steal a large amount of money from the wealthy citizens of Gotham.Prophecy of Doom The Clock King was a villain obsessed with time, who held a grudge against Mayor Hill for the loss of his company years before Hill was mayor. Temple Fugate adopted the identity of the Clock King to get revenge on Hill during his re-election campaign, going as far as trying to attempt to kill the Mayor. Batman foiled the King's plans, but Fugate managed to escape during the final confrontation.The Clock King (episode) Batman eventually captured a wanted crook called "The Interrogator", by luring him into a trap to retrieve his cape and cowl.The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy After this, he tracked down Tony zucco, the killer of Dick Grayson's parents, but it was Robin who nabbed the crook.Robin's Reckoning Part II Later, Batman stopped Roland Daggett and Achilles Milo from spreading a deadly virus through animals, with Catwoman's help.Cat Scratch Fever Later he stopped Hugo Strange's extortion racket, even after the criminal had discovered Batman's secret identity.The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne He also confronted H.A.R.D.A.C. and its robot duplicants with some unwanted help from Barbara Gordon.Heart of Steel Part IHeart of Steel Part II Afterwards, Batman saved Selina Kyle from the mad scientist Emile Dorian, who experimented on her and transformed her into a monster. Batman turned Dorian's own creation, Tygrus and he stopped his mad experiments before returning him to Gotham and reverting Selina's transformation.Tyger, Tyger After this, Batman was once again challenged by Achilles Milo and Anthony Romulus, who Milo had transformed into a werewolf. Batman managed to defeat Romulus, who escaped and allowed the police to capture Milo.Moon of the Wolf Eventually, Batman was challenged by a past enemy, Kyodai Ken, who was easily defeated by Bruce and struck a second time, forcing Batman to travel to Japan and defeat him once and for all.Day of the Samurai Powers and Abilities As a result of his years of intensive physical training, Batman represents the peak of human physical conditioning. Batman is at the highest human levels of strength, stamina, agility, coordination, reflexes, speed, and durability. Even with advances in his age, Bruce still demonstrated that he could manhandle other much younger men with ease. Batman's martial arts discipline was never mentioned, in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Bruce mentions Ju Jitsu. Batman was also a master of stealth and infiltration (all the more remarkable given that he stands 6'2" and weighs 215 lbs), and often revealed himself to his enemies when they least suspected him to. This also allowed him to just disappear from allies in mid-sentence, a habit that frequently annoys the likes of Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock. With his martial arts prowess, occasionally augmented by technology, Batman was usually more than a match for any foe he encountered, human or otherwise. Equipment As the head of Wayne Enterprises, Bruce Wayne has access to cutting edge technology and Batman makes good use of it in his usual field equipment. *Batsuit - standard as well as heat-resistant, cold-resistant, and underwater versions. *Batarangs - of differing size and effect. These ranged from standard, to explosive, electric, remote, etc. *Grapple Gun - This item assisted Batman in scaling the various buildings of Gotham City. *Utility Belt - Batman's Utility Belt has compartments to hold several items, the contents of which change according to his needs, and often include items such as flashlights, laser cutters, underwater rebreathers, binoculars, a fingerprinting kit, flashbangs, remote controls for his vehicles, acid/base compounds, anti-toxins, mini-computer, and smoke pellets. Vehicles Batman has used several vehicles in the course of his crimefighting career, including: *Batmobile *Batwing *Batcycle *Batboat *Batglider References External Links * Batman at the Batman Anthology Wiki. * Batman at the DC Cinematic Universe Wiki. Category:Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Good Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Law Enforcers Category:Bat Family